17 Aug 2020

Agricultural sector contributes only 2.2 per cent towards the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Business Botswana (BB) chairperson of the agriculture sector, Ms Gao Radikwata has said.

Briefing the media on interventions and plans the organization has in store to assist government fight COVID-19 on  Sunday, Ms Radikwatae said the sector should aim for a private sector led economy, by utilising government initiated interventions and policies.

“We would like as Business Botswana for the agricultural sector to be given the space to participate without competition from parastatals. We would also like the agriculture sector to take its rightful position in its contribution towards the country’s GDP,” she said.

Ms Radikwata said it was through the agriculture sector that there would be creation of employment, increase in industry manufacturing as well as the thriving agro-processing.

Citing challenges Business Botswana had noticed during the pandemic, she said the food supply chain ranging from farmers, fertilisers, seeds, transport and consumers was hugely affected since the country relied heavily on imports.

She also said that they noticed an increase in food prices, shortage of labour and decrease in uptake by consumers caused by restricted movements within and outside country.

“Given the challenges, we partnered with UNDP, to come up with a Private Sector Recovery Plan with the aim to devise strategies and recommendations to assist businesses to recover from the challenges impacted by COVID-19. 

There is an urgent need for the country to be self-reliant and to produce products of high quality,” she explained.

Ms Radikwata said the recovery plan was informed by an overall objective to build back better, with the private sector acting as its own driving force. 

“The plan foresees a number of transformations in the private sector to help us achieve that objective.

These include a more inclusive private sector, with particular emphasis on participation of youth and women, an economy with technology; in particular digital technologies as its backbone - as part of the fourth industrial revolution, a diversified economy, with strengthening local value and supply chains, a greener economy,

This also includes utilisation of renewable energy and a commercially independent agriculture sector capable of self-reliance,” she said. 

 

Ms Radikwata urged local farmers to partner with Business Botswana so to reap benefits the organisation had to offer. BOPA